The fifth single release from Markus Schulz's album Progression, and the fiftieth release on Coldharbour Recordings, would be regarded by many as the most eagerly anticipated of them all.

When news broke that Markus had been working alongside Andy Moor in a production capacity, many regarded it as a match made in heaven. They were not disappointed, as Daydream dominated dancefloors across Ibiza and all the major summer festivals in 2007.

Daydream holds some memories of personal reflection, particularly for Andy Moor. The track was dedicated to his late uncle Douglas Hall, who sadly died of illness last year. Daydream will forever be dedicated to his memory, and therefore many people can claim a common rapport to the track in moments of sadness and sympathy.

With the remix package finally completed, it looks set to be the biggest release on Coldharbour Recordings to date.

The original mix is nicely complimented by an effort from two of Coldharbour's rising stars, Benya, and Ormatie. Already receiving support from Matt Darey, the talented Dane produces yet another masterpiece in manipulating melody in his own unique style, and is sure to have a great appeal among regular Global DJ Broadcast listeners. Russian Ormatie's take will resonate with the more down-tempo and progressive minded of listeners, ideal for any afterhours set.

However, with the big room clubs in mind, Markus brought in some heavyweights to deliver the knockout effect. Step up German Ronski Speed, who delivers a tough, pounding tech style atmosphere which has proved popular with DJs such as Paul van Dyk and Armin van Buuren.

Lastly, but by no means least, Norwegian duo Lemon & Einar K provide two interpretations of Daydream. So impressed was Markus of their track Anticipation, he asked them to produce a Progressive Mix and an Uplifting Mix. The Progressive Mix has already been supported hugely by Andy Moor himself, with plays on his live sets and podcast.

The Uplifting Remix has been hammered by Dutch master Ferry Corsten at every live gig in the past four months. Markus himself unleashed it to the Winter Music Conference audience in Miami, and has become his most requested track in any of his live gig and festival appearances throughout the summer. Listeners to Global DJ Broadcast have awarded the accolade of Global Selection winner to the remix on both occasions Markus gave it a spin on his World Tour series.

It is somewhat appropriate that Daydream signifies the landmark of Coldharbour Recordings celebrating 50 releases. Daydream allows us to reflect on the past, think about the presents, and look forward to the future.

July 27, 2008

On Monday May 30th 2005, .due to his immense growth in popularity around the world, Markus Schulz was rewarded with the opportunity to express his musical vision beyond his radio show and live sets, and Coldharbour Recordings was born.

The label allowed Markus Schulz to give his cherished crown jewels in his Global DJ Broadcast sets an identity, a home. The name has a true meaning, due to Markus' time living on Coldharbour Lane in the London suburbs, where he found the inspiration to discover his true inner expression musically. Every release on the label has to have that distinctive sound, one that resonates with the soul in the unique way only a Coldharbour record can.

From the outset, Markus' mission statement on the label was clear - to give the best up and coming talent a platform to launch, or enhance, their careers. Today, he still lives to that promise, and those who have seized the opportunity with both hands have already become part of Coldharbour folklore.

If you browse through Coldharbur's discography, one can clearly identify the tracks that have influenced Markus Schulz's sound throughout the Global DJ Broadcast era.

So lets take a trip back and remember the early days, and see how far Coldharbour Recordings has come in just over three short years.

The summer of 2005 was dominated by Hammer & Bennett's "Language". With the original being given a berth on a previous Coldharbour Selections, two additional remixes would prove to dominate dancefloors all summer long, particularly highlighted by Markus sets in places such as GodsKitchen in England, Spirit in New York City, and Labour of Love in Toronto. The people in question were Markus' protégé Elevation, and Columbia's Santiago Nino, delivering his then trademark dub tech interpretation, with outstanding results.

That very summer also saw the breakthrough of several names, such as Funabashi, Niklas Harding and Kenneth Thomas, with their tracks "Daylight", "Ice Beach" and "Tonic" respectively. Today, KT has moved on to become one of Paul Oakenfold's selected disciples and tours the United States regularly, Niklas Harding has seen his gig itinerary increase rapidly, with regular appearances across Europe, and Funabashi continue to feature on Coldharbour in a remix capacity, remixing forthcoming releases by Hammer & Herbick feat. Boytronic and Mr. Pit. The three tracks mentioned were a fixture for many of the world's top DJs, firmly putting Coldharbour Recordings on the map.

American Noel Sanger has been a staple of the label, with remixes released in 2005 (Keo Nozari's "Close Enough"), 2006 (Seroya's "Beautiful") and 2007 (Flash Brothers feat. Tiff Lacey "Stay"). His wife, Dauby, of course featured on vocal duty for Markus' monster hit from 2008, "Perfect".

2006 proved to be a breaththrough year for another Dane named Ben Bording, better known to many as Benya. He has continued to go from strength to strength since his debut appearance on Coldharbour Selections with his wonderfully mysterious "Prometheus", providing remixes for Jan Johnston Meets J Joy's "Rush" and Markus' latest release "Daydream".

The summertime proved to be another successful period for the label, notably with the inclusion of piano-laden hit "Collision" by New York's Chuck Luis. However, that summer will forever be remembered as the time vocalist Karen Overton brought back a 1994 hit by Billie Ray Martin back to life, "Your Loving Arms". Furthermore, Markus teamed up with Elevation to create a little bootleg of the track, exclusively for Markus' live sets. When Markus gave a debut the track in Miami for Winter Music Conference, the reaction was overwhelming. Such was the demand for the track following plays at festivals such as Global Gathering and Nature One, the remix saw a full release on Coldharbour Selections, and remains an anthem today.

2007 would be the year that Coldharbour favourite Andrew Bennett shined, with three full releases which many regard as some of the best the label has had to offer. "Menar", "Safe From Harm" and in particular "Heaven Sent" struck a unique rapport with Global DJ Broadcast listeners, as it received the accolade of Global Selection on no less than 4 occasions - a record yet to be broken. Andrew has also featured on several other tracks on remix duties, notably for Markus' collaboration with Chakra, entitled "I Am".

The year would also be dominated by one of Markus' trademark mashups. Taking the vocals of Ronski Speed's The Space We Are and weaving it with Rex Mundi's Perspective, the dominant "Perspective Space" was born, and destroyed dancefloors and festivals worldwide, from Trance Energy to Sensation White, Planetlove to Monster Massive, and everywhere in between.

Late 2007 and early 2008 resulted in a mini-Polish invasion to the label, with groups Sonic Division and Anguilla Project (Skytech) establishing themselves as names to watch out for in the future. With tracks such as "Bulky Hero" and "Floating Clouds" respectively already synonymous with Global DJ Broadcast, we certainly have not heard the last from these guys.

On Global DJ Broadcast in 2008, Markus Schulz opened up his show for the year by debuting what would transpire to be a pure dancefloor smash, as Canadian Arnej delivered "They Always Come Back". It was a track impossible to ignore, as it became one of the real anthems throughout Markus' Australian tour in March.

However, 2008 so far has belonged to Romania's Adrian Ivan, aka Mr. Pit. Following on from his Coldharbour Selections appearance in 2007 with "Isolarium", his double EP release "Shana / Love You More" has delivered an immense reaction throughout all of trance music, receiving support from many of the big DJs on the world circuit. Looking forward, Mr. Pit will feature beyond the 50th, with his new vocal smash "Back For More".

Last but not least, Coldharbour Recordings would not be Coldharbour Recordings were it not for the headline releases by the label owner himself. Markus Schulz commenced proceedings on May 30th 2005 with the release of "First Time", and on July 28th 2008, he celebrates the 50th release in style, with the wonderfully epic "Daydream", which many regard as a major contender to scoop track of the year. From Without You Near to Never Be The Same Again, Cause You Know to Perfect, there have been many memories along the way for Markus Schulz and Global DJ Broadcast fans, and the time has come to celebrate in reflection, and anticipate what the future holds in the next 50 releases.

It is impossible to deny that the Coldharbour sound has failed to shape the landscape of trance today. As we look to the future of the label, you can expect releases and remixes from names such as Agnelli & Nelson, Element One, Mr. Pit, Funabashi, Dyor, Blake Jarrell and Jody Wisternoff, to name but a few.

Let's raise a toast to Coldharbour Recordings, and here's to the next 50.

July 21, 2008

Georgia's Evol Waves makes his second appearance in four months on Coldharbour Recordings Red, with another double EP release. While the two tracks are different, the funky, electro-influenced melody remains consistent in both.

Mesjah was huge for Markus Schulz in his Australian tour back in March, and this continued through Winter Music Conference. Sunrise In Georiga has a more emotional offering and has received several plays on Global DJ Broadcast. Either way, you are guaranteed a quality reaction from anyone who hears the tracks.

Both track look set to be popular fixtures on Ibiza dancefloors, and with good reason. You can purchase either track from all download portals from Monday July 21st.

Romania's Adrian Ivan has firmly established himself as a Global DJ Broadcast and Coldharbour Recordings star at an incredibly rapid rate. After making his debut on Coldharbour Selections Part 15 with Isolarium, and teaming with B.E.N. for their Superstition / More Manners Please EP, he embarked on solo projects once again, which resulted in a more melodic output.

The result was outstanding. After Markus Schulz played the original on the January 10th edition of Global DJ Broadcast, and seeing how much the listeners and fans immediately fell in love with the track by voting for it as a runaway Global Selection winner, it was inevitable that Shana would find its home on Coldharbour Recordings.

The remix package has also proved to be incredibly successful. Enter brothers Marco and Drik Duderstadt, who put their touch on two seperate remixes, one of which with Afterglow Records' label owner and close friend Plastic Angel. The Duderstadt Progressive Dub Mix is geared very much for the dancefloor, and it has caught the attention of bg room DJs such as Armin van Buuren and Ferry Corsten. Listeners of Ferry's show, Corsten's Countdown, voted this remix as their number 1 track for June 2008. The Plastic Angel vs. Duderstadt remix is available in both vocal and instrumental versions.

Last but not least, the package is completed by a second track from Mr. Pit himself, Love You More. Produced in similar vein to Shana, it has proved to be just as popular with Markus Schulz, who has played the track regularly on Global DJ Broadcast, and was featured in his live set from Mexico City as part of the GDJB World Tour.

It all shapes up to provide a very strong package, ahead of Coldharbour's milestone of reaching 50 label releases. You can also expect Mr. Pit to feature again on the label in the near future, as he teams up with vocalist Vicky Fee to produce the track Back For More, which will be featured on Markus' new Armada at Ibiza compilation CD.

July 09, 2008

He promised to deliver his personal best Ibiza season in 2008, and now Markus Schulz has superseded that very same promise. Playing no less than twelve of the Armada Nights at Amnesia in La Isla Blanca this summer, Markus has received unanimous appraisal for his epic performances in the club this far, from fans, colleagues and peers alike.

To embark on Armada’s fourth year of residency on the island, he was asked to undertake one of two mix compilations to showcase the finest of Balearic sounds for this summer. However, the compilation would be tailored to encompass Markus’ vision of trance in Ibiza, where he was presented with the challenge of predicting the biggest movers and shakers on dancefloors for the foreseeable future.

The results have been nothing short of outstanding. Two days after being released on iTunes, the world’s biggest online music store, Armada at Ibiza Summer 2008 – Mixed by Markus Schulz ascended straight to the top of the charts, an incredible achievement.

Markus, currently in Ibiza following another successful residency night at Amnesia, was thrilled on receipt of the news. “I am absolutely delighted,” says Markus. “There is so much competition in the market these days with compilations being released by the world’s biggest DJs, and ultimately you are judged on how you envisage which tracks are going to have the biggest reaction with the fans and the clubbers.”

Markus continued by saying, “What makes this such a proud achievement for me is knowing that so many people out there are sharing my vision of trance music, and how it fits into this special island. Thank you for the support you have given the CD so far!”

This coming Friday, July 11th, Markus moves from one residency to another, as he opens a new chapter by beginning his tenure as resident DJ for The Gallery at the legendary Ministry of Sound in London. “The world tour across the summer is relentless, but when you have the opportunity to play at fantastic clubs like Amnesia and Ministry, and to earn the right to call yourself resident at both venues, I know I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else”.

On this week’s edition of the Global DJ Broadcast, Markus will present some of the brand new tracks which feature on the Armada at Ibiza compilation.

Be sure to tune in on Thursday at 12pm EST / 5pm UK / 6pm CET on http://www.di.fm

Now available on iTunes, alongside the second compilation mixed by DJ Remy, Armada at Ibiza will be available on CD at all good record stores from Monday July 21st. You can purchase and pre-order Armada at Ibiza at any of the links below:

Coldharbour Recordings Red goes from strength to strength with its sixth release.

Dialogue is the second release from Antwerp's M.I.K.E. under his Deep Flexion alias. His first track, Emotions Of The Night, proved to be one of the sleeper tracks of 2007, picking up lots of recognition from the major DJs. Dialogue looks set to follow suit, with an impressive remix package on offer.

The original is typical of the electro influence you hear on many of the tracks on M.I.K.E.'s latest artist album. A simple yet eerie melody, accompanied by that raw bassline and atmospheric effects proves to be quite a charming combination.

First up on the remixes is a man who many regard as a legend, and is Slovenia's finest techno export, Umek. He takes things up a notch with a powerful driving bassline and high pitched stabs guaranteed to get a groove going on the dancefloor. For many, this will be the preferred choice of the package, due to its excellent dancefloor potential.

Next, we move from Slovenia to Sweden, for a typical quality offering on a minimal tip by Ozgur Can. The eeriness of the original proved to be perfect foil here, as Ozgur delivers his now trademark percussional effects. Last but not least is a new talent from Texas and discovered by Gabriel & Dresden, Francis Preve. He experiments with his remix and lets his own bassline do the talking. The G&D influence is clear for all to hear, and should do well with their former followers.